Photo: Singapore Badminton Association

AirBadminton, a new form of badminton, has smashed its way into Singapore and is set to revolutionise one of Singapore’s most popular sport.

Launch of AirBadminton In Singapore

Recognised and launched by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) earlier this year, AirBadminton made its debut in Singapore at the Badminton Festival held at HeartBeat@Bedok. Supported by the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA), People’s Association and ActiveSG, the launch of AirBadminton saw exciting game plays between Singapore shuttlers Lucas Saw, Qayum Noor, Tan Shi Bin, Johaan Prajogo, Sabrina Lee and Alexis Lee in an outdoor court while using the new shuttlecocks. Also, the teams competed to be crowned the first ever AirBadminton Singapore champions.

Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Member of Parliament for Kampong Chai Chee under East Coast GRC and also a former president of SBA, said in a video played at the event that “We are happy this launch has got the support of the Badminton World Federation, Singapore Badminton Association, ActiveSG, and People Association's and we hope that it would be popular among all our residents and amongst sportsmen and women.”

What is AirBadminton?

Unlike the traditional indoor badminton, AirBadminton involves a unique shuttlecock that is resistant to wind. As such, people of all ages can play AirBadminton outdoors on hard, grass and sand surfaces, be it in parks, gardens, streets, playgrounds and even beaches. The rules and game play of AirBadminton is largely similar to badminton game, however with some slight differences. AirBadminton can be played as a singles game, doubles and even triples. A game is decided over five sets, with the first player to score nine points winning the set. However, the number of points and sets to win a game can be varied, just as in traditional badminton competitions.

“Badminton has a rich history in Singapore and many people love and play the game regularly. However, players are limited by the number of badminton courts we have here in land-scarce Singapore. With AirBadminton, we would be able to play it in more areas such as parks, gardens and beaches and raise the popularity of the sport among Singaporeans,” SBA Vice President Robert Lim said.

According to BWF, the AirShuttles (shuttlecocks that are unique to AirBadminton) is currently in production and set to be available for sale to the public from 2020.

No.1 Racket Sport In Singapore

Globally, more than 300 million people play badminton actively. In Singapore, badminton has an estimated 210,000 active players and is the No. 1 racket sport here. It is the fourth most popular sport after walking, running and swimming. Every year, there are more than 770,000 badminton court bookings and many courts at sports halls and community centres are often fully booked.

Chief ActiveSG Lai Chin Kwang said: “We are happy to support this new AirBadminton initiative as it provides easy and convenient access to a sport that can be enjoyed by communities of all age groups. With the enhanced AirBadminton shuttlecocks, members of public can now play badminton anytime and anywhere. Gather your loved ones, neighbours and friends for a friendly match of AirBadminton right at your neighbourhood! ActiveSG also looks forward to having our seniors join us in our Active Masters AirBadminton Programme which will be launched in 2020. We hope that more Singaporeans will be inspired to play AirBadminton to stay fit and active.”

AirBadminton is also a new project by BWF in partnership with HSBC, which is the world badminton governing body’s global development partner.